Review: Coach Phillips – Learning How To Swim (EP)

Coach Phillips’ latest release, Learning How to Swim (EP), is one that will take you back to the late 90s and early 2000s with the characteristic guitar sound of that era. Based out of Seattle, Washington, Coach Phillips consists of guitarist and lead vocalist Wade Phillips, percussionist and vocalist Jessica Kim, drummer and saxophonist Chet Baughman, guitarist Sabee Grewal, and bassist Tom Moskal. Learning How to Swim is an EP that brings together indie rock and garage pop, which is a beautiful combo that is accentuated by Jessica Kim’s dream-pop style voice and Baughman’s savvy saxophone playing.

Featured on the top ten playlist for the week of March 23rd for our music department is “VHS Dating,” which is a guitar driven with cute love song sentiments. With lyrics such as, “I might like you/I might make you smile” and “I bought a VCR/ I”m still waiting,” how could a girl not want to meet up with Wade Phillips after watching his VHS dating tape? The music to “VHS Dating” is just as quirky as its lyrics.

Another track of this 5 song EP that you can hear on WLOY just happens to be my favorite song of the EP, “Lake MI (Dream).” The track starts off with a light, twinkly, guitar melody that leads into the lyrics, “shut me down/turn it off”—it’s the perfect blend of lyrics and music to get those self-pity emotions pumping. This just continues through the rest of the track due to lyrics like “I turn cynical/while pulling apart everything that I wanted.” “Lake MI (Dream),” like the whole EP, is really really great.

On WLOY you will be able to hear “VHS Dating,” “Lake MI (Dream),” and another fantastic song called “Constant Change.” As a fellow music fanatic, I highly suggest that you check out Learning How to Swim. It’s an EP that will make you reminisce on previous connections, or lack thereof. Wade Phillips’ soft, sad boy voice is one that leaves you craving more. That being said, I’m hoping that there is more to come from Coach Phillips in the future.